The PricePlow Podcast

After a 50+ episode hiatus, Maximus founder and CEO Dr. Cameron Sepah is back on the PricePlow Podcast for the first of two new episodes to give us the update on what’s going on in the pharmaceutical world of performance enhancement. For Episode #124, we talk about the Maximus Blood Flow Protocol, which is a potent synergistic combination of Tadalafil and Vardenafil to boost blood flow in ways that dietary supplement formulators could only dream of. Dr. Cam was previously on episode #062, where he introduced Maximus and talked all things testosterone, and episode #070, where he introduced us to the science behind tadalafil. The “Maximus Lover Protocol” discussed in #070 has been upgraded to the Blood Flow Protocol that’s discussed today, however, which is why he’s back to talk about the reformulation. We joke that this is a “prescription pre-workout”, and while that phrase can be used, but the science is showing that there’s a lot of data supporting cardiovascular improvements and potential longevity plays with the drugs used in this protocol. https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/dr-cameron-sepah-maximus-blood-flow-protocol-124 Video: Dr. Cameron Sepah Combines Two Drugs for a “Prescription Pre-Workout” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FANq-_eEUTk The Maximus Blood Flow Protocol: Show Notes with Dr. Cameron Sepah (0:00) – Re-Introductions (3:15) – The Maximus Blood Flow Protocol (13:00) – Enhancing overall circulation with Tadalafil and Vardenafil (19:30) – Performance benefits and consistency (25:30) – Aspirin Synergy (32:00) – PDE-5 inhibitors in bodybuilding (36:00) – Regulations, quality, and standards (52:15) – Prostate issues and health markers (1:00:00) – Vitamin D Where to Follow Dr. Cam: Twitter: @DrCamRX Instagram: @DrCamMaximus Website: https://www.maximustribe.com Discord Community: https://discord.maximustribe.com Thanks for joining once again – get ready for the second part of this two-part series! Until then, subscribe to the PricePlow Podcast on your favorite platform, and please leave us a great review!

For Episode #123, PricePlow welcomes guests Raza Bashir of MuscleTech and Shawn Wells of NNB Nutrition and Ingenious Ingredients back on to the PricePlow Podcast to discuss MuscleTech’s new muscle-building supplement, Peptide 185 (pronounced “Peptide One-Eight-Five”), which is made from a new leucine dipeptide (dileucine). Understanding the Dileucine in MuscleTech Peptide 185 Launched in early 2024, the powerful amino acid has repeatedly sold out on MuscleTech’s website, but when it’s been available, we’ve received countless inquiries about it, so we worked to get this episode live to help answer many of the most frequently asked questions. Raza and Shawn both also appeared on Episode #072, where they explained paraxanthine enfinity to the world. After we finish discussing the dileucine in Peptide 185, we recap the key takeaways and experiences from the enfinity introduction, learning about new data coming. Interestingly, we’re told that the two ingredients are synergistic, so we hope to see more about that in the coming years. https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/raza-bashir-shawn-wells-muscletech-peptide-185-dileucine-123 Video: Raza Bashir and Shawn Wells Return to PricePlow to Explain Dileucine in MuscleTech Peptide 185 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udPM3UG8M7E Raza Bashir and Shawn Wells Explain Peptide 185 (Dileucine) and Recap enfinity Paraxanthine (0:00) – Re-Introductions (10:45) – Defeating Leucine’s Limitations with Dileucine (19:00) – Dileucine Dosage (25:45) – Dileucine Benefits and Market Readiness (32:15) – Dileucine and Paraxanthine (41:30) – The Benefits of Paraxanthine (53:45) – Leucine Resistance and Wrap-Up You can find the published research on dileucine in our Peptide 185 article. Where to Find Raza, Shawn, and MuscleTech Sign up for PricePlow’s MuscleTech news alerts @MuscleTech on Instagram Raza Bashir on LinkedIn @ShawnWells on Instagram Listen to Episode #072 of the PricePlow Podcast Thanks once again to Shawn and Raza for supporting the PricePlow Podcast and coming on to discuss your new ingredients. As always, subscribe to the PricePlow Podcast on your platform of choice, and leave us a 10-star review!

On Episode #122 of the PricePlow Podcast, Team PricePlow welcomes Jake Powers, the Director of Community at MTN OPS – a brand focused on outdoor performance supplements. MTN OPS, located north of Salt Lake City, Utah, recently celebrated its nine-year anniversary and does phenomenal business on Amazon (see the MTN OPS page on Amazon). As “Director of Community”, Jake humorously describes his role as a mix of various responsibilities, from being the “loudest voice in the room” to working with events, ambassadors, and manufacturing partnerships. MTN OPS: Supplements for Hunting and Outdoors?! This episode is fun and different because the brand has a different purpose — supplements for outdoor enthusiasts. This pulls the conversation into the direction of hunting, where we talk about the training, hydration, diet, and supplementation to succeed. MTN OPS of course has protein bars and hydration supplements for these purposes, but one interesting supplement discussed is one made for adaptation to elevation, which plays a major role for those heading into the mountains. https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/jake-powers-mtn-ops-122 Video: Jake Powers Brings MTN OPS Supplements on the Hunt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmyxMTwvziw (0:00) – Introductions (5:00) – CrossFit and Hunting (10:45) – Hydration in hunting (15:15) – Getting ready for the hunt (22:15) – MTN OPS Demographics (31:15) – Solitude for Climate Acclimatization (37:45) – STM = Straight to Mouth! Equipment on the range (45:45) – Food in the backcountry (54:30) – Slumber sleep aid (59:15) – Performance bars (1:01:30) – Conquer Hunger Charity (1:07:00) – More MTN OPS products (1:23:15) – Farewells Where to find Jake and MTN OPS See PricePlow’s MTN OPS page to sign up for product alerts and deals See the MTN OPS page on Amazon Follow @MTNOPS on Instagram Follow @TheRealJakePowers on Instagram to follow Jake You can head back to the main PricePlow Podcast page — as always, please subscribe on your favorite app and give us a 5-star review!

It’s a new year, and you know what that means! It is now time for PricePlow’s annual Supplement Industry Awards ceremony, where we take a look at the past year and decide the coolest and most interesting supplements and brands that hit the market. PricePlow’s 2023 Supplement Industry Awards This year, we have quite a few awards, similar to prior years past. The list are as follows: Flavor System of the Year Functional Food of the Year Product of the Year Protein of the Year Brands to Watch in 2024 Innovator of the Year MVP of the Year Rookie of the Year Breakout Brand of the Year Brand of the Year Without further ado, let the ceremony commence! This is posted as Episode #121 on the PricePlow Podcast. Video and audio versions are below, with the details after that: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xL-NVZ5sd8 (0:00) – Introductions (2:45) – Flavor System of the Year (7:00) – Functional Food of the Year (12:30) – Product Launch and Pre-Workout of the Year (28:45) – Protein of the Year (36:00) – Brands to Watch in 2024 (45:00) – Innovator of the Year (53:00) – MVP of the Year (1:07:00) – Rookie of the Year (1:13:30) – Breakout Brand of the Year (1:20:10) – Brand of the Year See our Raw Nutrition news page for the full listing. Mike points out that Raw Nutrition’s success is due in large part to their partnership with influential figures like Chris Bumstead and their ability to combine high-quality products with effective marketing and community engagement. They discuss how Raw’s approach contrasts with previous industry partnerships with big names that did not pan out successfully. 2023 Brand of the Year: Raw Nutrition. What a great year! Congratulations to everyone named, and good luck in 2024 – we know it’ll be a wild one, at least if Merica Labz’ first launch (Orange Man Bad) is any indication. As always, subscribe to the PricePlow Podcast and leave us a review on your platform of choice.

Doug Kalman joins the PricePlow Podcast to talk about his experience co-founding the ISSN and how he helps professional fighters prepare their diets. We run through everything from regulatory, Doug’s appearance on the UFC reality TV show, macro breakdown, hydration and electrolytes, nutrient timing, the ISSN’s position stands, and so much more — most of it geared towards performance. This episode was so good, it spanned the course of two days because the first hour just wasn’t enough. Enjoy! https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/doug-kalman-120 Video: Doug Kalman Explains Diet and Nutrition Prep for Combat Athletes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgeuG8jTKTI Show Notes: Doug Kalman on Diet and Nutrition for Fighters (0:00) – Introductions (7:07) – Resistance and skepticism (15:46) – Information and misinformation (26:03) – UFC (33:46) – Personalized nutrition (41:38) – Weight cutting (47:19) – Objective data (1:03:30) – Carbs (1:10:00) – Eating strategies (1:18:54) – Misconceptions around fructose (1:25:30) – EAAs and Hydration (1:31:30) – Tracking hydration (1:39:00) – Macronutrients (1:53:00) – Personal preferences (2:05:00) – Communication in sports How to Follow Doug and the ISSN Doug Kalman on LinkedIn @the_issn on Instagram ISSN’s Website A few other links: Doug’s first appareance on PricePlow: How Many Calories are in BCAAs? The ISSN’s Dr. Doug Kalman Knows The high-dose caffeine + taurine study in elite boxers study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9610400/ List of ISSN Position Stands

In October of 2023, we made our annual trip to the “mecca of ingredientology” – SuppySide West 2023 in Las Vegas, NV. This is a major trade show that includes basically every component of the dietary supplement and nutrition industry’s supply chains, from ingredient developers to flavor houses to machine manufacturers to distribution experts. If you’re active in this industry, it’s the one to be at. We kept our tradition strong by recording a new podcast with Katie Emerson of Nutrition21, who’s their Manager of Scientific Affairs and an event sponsor. This is a follow-up to two previous PricePlow Podcast episodes, #075 and #085, continuing the conversation but with some new updates, and a few things never before mentioned on PricePlow. nooLVL is for everyone… and what is Lustriva? The big news is that Nutrition21 retargeted nooLVL for nootropics, and isn’t just targeting gaming supplements anymore. Katie also updates us about her recent presentations and research, and we finally get to ask the question, “What is Lustriva?!” https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/nutrition21-ssw-2023-119 Nutrition21’s Katie Emerson Talks nooLVL and Lustriva https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVYd385veJI (0:00) – Introduction (6:30) – nooLVL energy and fatigue study (10:15) – Dosage arms race (15:30) – Rebranding / Retargeting nooLVL (18:45) – What’s Lustriva?! (21:30) – The success of beauty products (23:00) – Hair growth (26:00) – Wrap up Where to Follow Katie and Nutrition21 Nutrition21 on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/nutrition-21/ Katie Emerson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-m-emerson/

At SupplySide West 2024, one of the biggest events was a panel discussion held at the Kyowa Hakko USA booth, featuring a star-studded cast of influential industry advocates: Dan Lourenço – Founder and CEO of Ghost Joey Savage – Chief Scientific Officer of Glaxon Chris Lockwood – VP of Scientific Affairs at Nutrabolt David Sandler – Scientific Consultant and COO of Jupiter Wellness The topic of the panel was The Growth of Branded Ingredients, with an initial focus on Cognizin Citicoline, an ingredient used by everyone listed above. The episode offers fresh and unique perspectives from each member, who have different reasons and purposes for various ingredients. When you’re as big as these brands, you have to rely on trusted and legally compliant inputs, and few in this industry are as trusted as Kyowa Hakko! Embracing branded ingredients and collaborative competition This was a hallmark moment for the dietary supplement industry — one that we call “collaborative competition”. To put it bluntly, a panel like this simply wouldn’t have happened 5+ years ago. But with a growing industry where all good players can win, and companies like PricePlow and Kyowa Hakko here to bring a network of forward-thinking industry advocates together, it’s now a reality. With this, we get more information, less duplication of mistakes, and the consumer is ultimately the beneficiary. https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/kyowa-branded-ingredients-ssw-2023 Video Version: Watch Dan, Joey, and Chris Talk Branded Ingredients https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjpmO_3nsk0 Audio Version available for download Detailed Show Notes: Embracing Branded Ingredients with Kyowa at SSW 2023 (0:00) – Introductions and Branded Ingredients (1:45) – Why use Cognizin in supplement formulations? (4:30) – Cognizin Citicoline vs Alpha-GPC (5:00) – Energy, Focus, and Nootropics – Where to Next? (8:45) – Why branded ingredients? (14:15) – Operating in the Information Age (17:15) – Ingredient Suppliers Need to Know their Mechanisms (18:15) – How Important is Flavoring? What if it attracts kids? (24:00) – Ingredients that Don’t Taste Well (32:00) – Immune: Kyowa Hakko’s Immune Support Postbiotic Ingredient (35:45) – Branded Ingredients in Functional Foods? (41:00) – Trojan Horsing In Healthy Ingredients Where to Follow Everyone Kyowa Hakko USA on LinkedIn Follow PricePlow’s Kyowa Hakko news Dan Lourenço on LinkedIn Follow PricePlow’s Ghost Lifestyle news Joey Savage on LinkedIn Follow PricePlow’s Glaxon news Chris Lockwood on LinkedIn Follow PricePlow’s Cellucor news … Read more on the PricePlow Blog

Taylor Knox of NutraMedia is back for his second installment of the PricePlow Podcast. This time, we met early in the morning before SupplySide West 2023, where we had a great conversation about energy drink labels. Taylor already explained their label design process and “brand therapy” on Episode #087, but this episode is almost entirely about energy drink design and the business surrounding it. If you want an epic energy drink label — nearly on par with what the geniuses at GHOST have been able to do — but don’t want to pay the extreme amounts of money it takes to make it, then TK and his team at NutraMedia are your team. Video Version on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWYROJfiXYQ https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/taylor-knox-energy-drink-labels-117 (Apologies for the audio, someone lost the memory card with the microphone audio so we had to use the camera’s backup audio) Show Notes: Going to Brand Therapy with Taylor Knox (0:00) – (Re-)Introductions (6:30) – Can Design (16:30) – Manufacturing Costs (22:45) – On Imitation (32:00) – Regulatory Landscape (49:45) – The Complexity of Design (1:04:15) – Texture and Effects (1:11:30) – Intricate Details (1:19:45) – Expansion (1:23:00) – The Branding Future of PricePlow Where to follow Taylor and NutraMedia Taylor Knox on LinkedIn NutraMedia on LinkedIn NutraMedia’s website: NutraMedia.co Thank you TK for coming to our incredible BNB in Vegas before heading to the SSW Expo. As always, subscribe to the PricePlow Podcast and leave us a 5-star review on your platform of choice!

Ghost Lifestyle founder and CEO Dan Lourenço is back for the fifth time on the PricePlow Podcast, in an episode that’s becoming an annual tradition – a pre SupplySide West show! We last saw Dan in Episode #088, where he gave us Ghost’s Plans for 2023 and celebrated the 2022 PricePlow Brand of the Year award. In this episode, Dan explains what Ghost’s been up to in 2023 — besides Cinnabon and Legend V3 going global, it’s been all about scaling. But he’s also happy to give a sneak peak of Ghost Hydration RTD, trialing out the Strawberry Kiwi flavor that’s a fan favorite in the Hydration powder as well. He also teases a few other flavors. This was also a major year for Ghost Energy Drink, which not only took advantage of the scaling, but had new marketing pushes into music festivals and sporting arenas. As for 2024, Dan’s extremely excited to state that he’s very confident in a new “food item” coming to Ghost. We can’t make guarantees, but when Ghost enters a new arena, they do it their way, so we’re hoping for something extremely innovative. Same goes for Ghost Sleep, which is also mentioned! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spcEgeWAtTQ Show notes at https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/dan-lourenco-ghost-lifestyle-116 “Back in Vegas”: Show Notes with Dan Lourenço (0:00) – “Say it! Say It” (1:15) – The challenges of the Ghost YouTube Channel (4:15) – Avoiding Pigeonholing (05:30) – Ghost Apparel (06:15) – Ghost Protein RTDs (or lack thereof?) (9:00) – The success of Ghost Energy (17:45) – Looking at 2023 and forward to 2024 (19:55) – Legend V3 and Global Compliance (20:45) – Ghost Hydration RTD and a Food Item for 2024! (23:30) – Collabs: TMNT V3 Next Year? (26:00) – Energy: FaZe Pop Expansion and the Return of Strawbango (27:30) – Ghost Hydration RTD Kiwi Strawberry: Under the Table Tasting (29:30) – GRAS Status of Some Hydration Ingredients (33:30) – Living in a “More is More” Society (35:00) – Listening to customers (39:30) – Dan’s Favorite Thing of 2023 And as always, you can sign up for PricePlow’s Ghost Lifestyle news alerts so that you never miss a drop – and there are a lot of them to cover!

Almost everyone working within the dietary supplement industry knows Diana Morgan, the VP of Global Regulatory and Government Affairs at Nutrabolt. But it’s not just all that C4 that makes Diana an industry rock star — it’s the social events she puts on as well! In 2020, when industry trade shows abruptly shut down, Diana decided that it was time to bring back human physical contact. She started a series of in-person social events and parties known as What’s Up With Supps, and continues the tradition by hosting supplement industry parties alongside major industry gatherings and expos. We had Diana on to talk about her upcoming Retro Toy Party, which will be the final industry event in Las Vegas at SupplySide West 2023, held on Thursday, October 26 at the House of Blues. Diana explains the creation of What’s Up With Supps, and then we get into some of her regulatory work at Nutrabolt, talk energy drinks, and reminisce over our trip to Washington DC at this year’s Fly-In Day with Natural Products Association. Fun episode here, and if you’re going to be at SupplySide West, then meet up with us at the party! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAN49RHVOkY Show notes at https://blog.priceplow.com/podcast/diana-morgan-whats-up-with-supps-115 Show Notes with Diana Morgan: What’s Up with Supps (0:00) – Introductions (2:15) – What’s Up With Supps Retro Toy Party for SupplySide West 2023 (5:30) – Industry Events (9:30) – Diana’s Role at Nutrabolt (16:00) – Vitamin Shoppe (21:30) – Advocating in DC (26:00) – Labeling and marketing (35:45) – GRAS status (43:00) – Amino acid calorie count (48:00) – Wrap up and SupplySide West Subscribe to the PricePlow Podcast Thanks for joining us, Diana! You can head back to the PricePlow Podcast and subscribe on your platform of choice.